Pellet stove or Wood stove

[tinkabranc]

a great idea to visit a dealer when they are burning or will fire one up for you. then depending on what ever else is going on you can decide if the fan noise is a bother....i have my stove right in the family room downstairs, with surround sound I don't hear the fans! LOL

Agree with Jim H. its a good idea to check one out at the dealer to help in your decision.

If I have to turn up the TV volume it is because the dogs, cats, or kids are running through, not because of
the sound of the blowers.

Keep us posted on what you decide. Happy Hunting!

 

[iceman]

This is an interesting thread. I wonder what the response would be if the op asked the same question. Over in the wood shed....lol
As far as answering your question ... well yes there are pros and cons BUT what is for me might not be for you....
So wood takes up larger storage place , it is usually much cheaper than pellets BUT you need to buy/get your wood at least a year in advance to make sure its dry enough otherwise your stove won't burn right.. so you need someplace outside for storage of a couple of cords of wood.
You can't buy a new stove that's airtight, epa stoves aren't designed that way anymore.
If you get a stove large enough it is possible to load it once every day or 2 (bkk stove)
But yes wood stoves can be more of a mess, I clean the stovepipe 1 a year and it has about the same amount of stuff in it as my pellet stove pipe which gets cleaned more often (in total)
My pellet stove is nice set it and forget it ... but my wood stove looks better due to a better looking fire ....
Ask yourself what do you really want? If you are busy all the time maybe pellet , if you like being outside wood
I enjoy the stacking splitting and of course the heat of a wood stove ...
My pellet stove is in my in law apt ... 1 because it was gonna be waaay to expensive for a wood pipe.. 2 I wanted something easy for someone else to run if I wasn't around .... 3 when no one is living in there it still has to be heated so I can go there every other day and fill her up ... couldn't do that with wood unless I had a bkk..

Finally just ask the wife what she wants ...... you can't go wrong that way

 

[jakehunter]

thanks, for the post. I do have plenty of room to store wood or pellets. I line on a 7 acer track and I have a pole barn. The problem is that I have quotes for a wood stove and a pellet stove and they are both at $ 5,000.00. So, I am trying to decide on what stove to go with. It seems the wood mess is equal to a power outage with a pellet stove. I have looked a Harman Pellet stoves, Pacific Energy wood stove, and Blaze King princess wood stove and they are basically the same to have them professionally installed.

 

[PastTense]

jakehunter: What fuel are you using now and how much are you spending on it for how much fuel? What are your motivations for switching to a different fuel? (cost, reliability, self-sufficiency...) What other fuels are commonly used in your area? Can you get natural gas? ....The more you tell us about your specific situation, the more likely you will get good advice.

I think you should seriously consider getting something much cheaper (something used off Craigslist for example) and upgrading later, rather than a $5,000 installation now.

 

[rona]

How handy are you? Do you have tools to cut a hole in the wall in order to put a thimble in? Can you build your own hearth pad?
Harman usually has a good manual that includes installation instructions. If its beyond your"comfort zone" then hire it done but looking at 5,000.00 you must have a awful elaborate exhaust system. Are you going straight up through a ceiling and roof?
That would cost a fair amount more then a through the wall install.

 

[seige101]

I will chime in with my opinion as well. We heated this house for 24 years with a wood stove and loved the warm heat it provided us with. However we hated dealing with the wood. We always bought from a local guy for a very very reasonable price. But the stacking when it was unloaded, the dragging it into the house, dealing with the constant mess of wood in general i do not miss that one bit. We switched to a pellet stove 3 years ago and haven't looked back. I know the concept of 'free' wood, but just don't have the time.

I like making a phone call and having my pellets delivered right outside my basement door. I stack 3 tons in the basement with the help of several strong friends this is done in just over an hour. As needed dump a bag into the hopper. Every 3 days do a light cleaning of the stove with the shop vac and a brief scrape of the burn pot and we are good to go. I love pushing a button and having the stove auto ignite in 5 minutes. We have it hooked up to a thermostat , on/off mode in the shoulder seasons and hi/low in the cold seasons. We are able to regulate the house temp pretty darn precisely compared to a wood stove.

The stove we bought was an Enviro Empress freestanding.

 

[jakehunter]

The current set up is a heat pump once, it gets below 32F then it switches to the furance and it run's off natual gas. The problem is the heat pump seems to throw cold air all the time this is how they operate. The electric bills when its cold is around $ 250.00 but, the heat is set on 67F. I also, live in the county on a hill with nothing to block the wind. My house was built in 2006 so I do have good installation. The main reason I want a stove is because I want one and for power outages generator required for pellet stove.

The chimney set up for the pellet stove would be throw the wall. But, the cost of the stove, pipe and install is around $ 5,000.00. The wood stove will have to 90 out the side wall and straight up the outside of the house stove, pipe & install will be around $ 5,000.00. The cost for the stoves is because these are the stove I want I do not want to settle on something else. I want to do it right the first time around.

I have been told by the insuarnce company that anything I by will have a pro install. So, I could build the hearth and save alittle money.

Thanks, for all the replys it does help.

 

[vvvv]

NG fireplace or stove? no electric required

 

[rona]

Sounds like your ins salesmen has a brother that installs stoves.
What breakdown do they give you as far as price of stove, labor, price of parts etc
A example of parts needed would be from the stove
starter pipe- 18.00
45 degree angle 25.00
36 inch straight pipe 38.00
a thimble 40.00
a tube of high temp clear caulk 12.00
end cap 50.00
If you are going to use OA for stove add maybe 50.00
233.00 total for parts.
If you do a short vertical and out then it would cost more for a extra straight piece and a couple cleanouts
A professional installer has special insurance that covers his work. But there is no secret way of installing a stove. Follow the directions in the owners manual and you will be doing the same thing that professional is doing. Or get the physical requirements from your ins company. For that matter get a copy of the owners manual showing the installation requirements and give that to your ins agent and ask for their requirements. When I did mine they wanted to rate it with a wood stove which is higher premium. after looking things over they backed off. In fact the fellow said he never seen a stove like that before as all he had been exposed to was wood stoves.
Just for fun ask your ins salesman how many corn or pellet stoves have blown up a house compared to nat gas or lp.
I am sure you can have it inspected by some public official if it comes to that. Similar to doing some of your own wiring there is inspectors that will check your work.

 

[jakehunter]

rona,

Pellet stove Harman p61 $3400 vent kit $200 installation $ 600.00 stove board $ 350.00 3 ton of pellets $ 700.00

Thanks,

 

[PastTense]

People buy pellet stoves because other fuels are expensive; I think it is very rare to find pellet stoves when natural gas is available.

I think the best solution for you is simply throw out the heat pump and run the natural gas furnace all the time (and upgrade it if it is not an an efficient 90%+ unit)--I think you will get tired of the effort and you won't save any money. Plug
the local pellet price and local natural gas price into the calculator:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

 

[rona]

1300.00 for extras explains a lot. yes you can make your own hearth pad much cheaper then 600.00
When you choose a hearth pad it is a good idea to make it deep enough so when the soot falls off the door it will land on the hearth pad instead of carpet. Much easier to clean and it will happen. Another point to think about is when filling the stove can you dump a pail or sack into the hopper or is it a effort to lift the pail or sack up to reach the hopper. You can build your hearth pad a little wider so you can step up which makes it easier to fill the stove.
Natural gas is pretty cheap these days and much easier but if the price goes up you don't have to many choices.

 

[jakehunter]

Yes, it seems to be a wash. But, I still would like a stove.

 

[rona]

Don't blame you a bit for wanting a different source of heat. Do the farmers grow corn near you? I keep suggesting multifuel type stoves just because you are not stuck burning just pellets. Sometimes pellets are a good deal and other times you might want to burn corn, wheat, barley, sunflowers, cherry pits, etc. depending on the price.
Location plays a big part in choosing what type of stove to purchase.

 

[jakehunter]

Yes, corn is all over here. Do you know who makes good multifuel stoves.

 

[jtakeman]

Yes, corn is all over here. Do you know who makes good multifuel stoves.

Harman PC 45. Enviro Omega, Maxx M, M55 and M55 cast. St Croixs has a good line up too. Englander has a Multifuel unit as well.

I am sure there is more out there. Multifuel is the way to go IMHO. I love mine. Options are nice!

 

[DMZX]

People buy pellet stoves because other fuels are expensive; I think it is very rare to find pellet stoves when natural gas is available.

I think the best solution for you is simply throw out the heat pump and run the natural gas furnace all the time (and upgrade it if it is not an an efficient 90%+ unit)--I think you will get tired of the effort and you won't save any money. Plug
the local pellet price and local natural gas price into the calculator:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

Nice calculator. Plugging in my cost revealed nat gas and pellets were very close in cost.

I do live in an area where natural gas is available, and I have a 90% efficient Lennox furnace. But it has an 800 watt blower. So my gas bill and electric bill are significantly higher in the winter. (We live in an old, poorly insulated house). Every time the furnace came on I would stress about the expected bills, especially when the temps dropped below zero.

My wife likes it warm, and I tried to save money by keeping the t-stat turned down. When I was gone, she would crank it up, when she was gone, I would turn it down. That little game went on all winter.

So we bought a pellet stove mostly to avoid the stress and aggravation over heating the house in the winter. Now I can keep the room temperature at 75 degrees, keep my wife warm and happy, and I can relax and watch some football knowing my heating bills are prepaid and stacked in the garage.

 

[jakehunter]

Thanks, guys I will look into some other stove.

DMZX,

The wife and I do the same thing. I just dont want to see a $ 400.00 electric and gas bill in the winter.

 

[rona]

Jakehunter,
I sent you PM
Rona

 

[Nostromo]

Do i what I did. Buy both!

Use the Pellet Stove for day to day operations purely on efficiency and ease of use.

Use the Wood Stove in case Pellet Stove breaks/needs repairs, Power is OUT (pstove out), or you want to have the 'luxury' of a wood fire.

And I am a busy guy who doesn't have time to mess with fire wood so I do some shopping to find best prices on Wood Pressed Logs. Yes you have to pick up or pay extra for delivery but IMHO, it is worth it for the thought of knowing you are covered in a power outage situation and you have it for those 'lazy sundays/weekends'.

 

[briansol]

I went through a similar debate 3 years ago when i was shopping, and as you can see i ended up with pellet. For me it wasn't price, fuel, labor, stacking, or availablity of fuel that swayed me.

The biggest things for me was that at the time, i lived alone and had a 1.4 hr each way commute, plus a 8-10 hour day. So, I would be gone up to 14 hours a day from 7am to 9pm most days. There is no way i could trust a wood stove to
a) stay on/keep the house warm/prevent pipes freezing
b) not burn my house down
for that 14 hour stint every day.


Now that I work from home, I sometimes regret having bought a fireplace insert instead of a freestanding unit. I would still like to burn wood some times, but i really can't. Plus, having the damper out of the chimney to fit the pipe is drafty. Just the cap and the fireplace shroud sheet metal is stopping cold air from drafting back down into the house.... aka, it's not.

 

[nate379]

Around here it wouldn't even make sense to get a pellet stove. I just priced pellets this morning and they are $8.95 a bag, or just under $450 a ton.

$33.06 per million BTUs for pellets vs
~$12 for either firewood or natural gas.

This is the first year I have had my wood stove, but it seems to hold a fire for 15-20 hrs without much trouble. When I came home from work I made a small fire with just some 2x4 scraps and 3 pieces of fairly punky cottonwood. Stove is still going right now, 7hrs later.
Last few nights I have made fires before leaving for work at 10PM and when I came home at around 8AM I just added a log or two.

 

[jakehunter]

Briansol ,

Thanks, very good points. I leave for work @ 4:50 a.m. and I return home at 7:00 p.m. so, I think after your post. I would need a pellet stove or a multifuel stove. I guess the research needs to start any imputs would be great.

 

[briansol]

yeah, that's insane... basically double price here.

Don't you guys have any cabinet makers up there? lol

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I had a steel Franklin Wood Stove that someone left in the garaage when I bought the house. so I hooked it up. It worked ok like a fireplace but really did not heat much. So then I bought a cast iron airtight Vermont Castings Consolidated DutchWest Federal design combination Wood/Coal stove. I had it for 19 years and sold it for almost $400. In that 19 years I used it for maybe 2.5 to 3 years. It warmed the basement but still did not heat the house like I wanted it. To be fair I did however change the attic insulation from R7 to R53 and the wood heat did stay in the house longer. Those stoves are still being made today! However I am not a wood cutter and in my area wood that is cut split and delivered is very expensive. My other complaint is shoveling a path to the wood pile and going out in the cold of wither to get more logs for the fire. I really did not want to keep much wood near or in the house since it is dirty and can have bugs in the bark. The wood fire is nice and the smell is great but the air wash systems do not work well on low so the ceramic glass can get dirty and is very hard to clean.
So then I bought an Avalon Astoria Wood Pellet Stove with a 115 lb hopper. I get plenty of consistant heat that never dies down. I have 155 bags in the garage and basement. The stove heats the entire 2,000 sqft split entry home and I even like it more than the comfy baseboard FHW heat also in the home.

So good luck with your choice!